'Embrace Spring through Sound and Movement'

2/24/2011 - By: Tiffany Moore

University faculty member Judy Strauss, plays the gong, Himalayan bowls, and other spiritual instruments with loving intention. Gong Mystique will perform “Embrace Spring through Sound and Movement” at the University on Feb. 26.

Associate Professor of Marketing Judy Strauss and other members of the musical group Gong Mystique will perform a concert called “Embrace Spring through Sound and Movement” at the University of Nevada, Reno at 7:30 p.m. in Nightingale Hall, Feb. 26.

The concert, sponsored by the University of Nevada Russian Club, was inspired by questions from attendees at the last concert, a “Winter Solstice Celebration.”

“Our last concert sold out with 150 people,” Strauss said. “Afterward, we got several questions about what makes the different sounds. I’ve also had several students ask me to bring gongs into class to help relieve stress during finals. We hope the audience finds this concert fun, educational and interesting, and that they leave with a greater sense of calmness, peace and joy.”

“Embrace Spring through Sound and Movement” will include several elements. Strauss, Wyatt Smith, Journey, J. Thomas, and Emily Wallis will play with eighteen gongs, crystal bowls and other instruments, with a scenic video streaming in the background. The concert will also include a performance by University Russian Dancers.

“We will be using the instruments and a video to evoke feelings of winter, then of spring,” Strauss said. “The Russian Dancers will also perform a winter dance and a spring dance.

The concert will be recorded live for Gong Mystique’s first CD by the University’s Recording Techniques and MIDI II class and assisted with technical aspects by University faculty members Rich Norris, Nightingale Concert Hall technical director, and Tom Gordon, Department of Music recording artist.

There will also be a presentation similar to Japanese author Masaru Emoto’s “The Hidden Messages in Water.”

“Emoto was known for his water experiments,” Strauss said. “He believed he could give the water healing properties by changing the water crystals with positive vibrations. We’ll have water for everyone, and use the gong vibrations and positive energy to vibrate the water. Then we’ll invite people to drink it.”

After the concert, audience members will have an opportunity for questions and answers about the gongs and can engage in discussion about the science behind healing from the harmonic vibrations produced by the instruments.

“With this concert, we want to help students, faculty, and staff relieve stress and to become aware of the fact that it’s a healthy thing to do on a regular basis,” she said. “We also want to inform the students that gong vibrations, along with other forms of sound, are a viable form of complementary medicine and can help the body heal. Finally, we also want to create an increasing awareness that the gong is a musical instrument with a rich variety of vibrations and sound and not purely a piece of metal on which to bang.”

The five members of Gong Mystique came together for the first time in 2010 for a winter solstice concert. Each member holds meditation sessions and they often work in pairs. For ticket prices and more information, visit Path To Bliss.